Allianz Football League Division 2 Round 1

Sunday 5 February

Galway v Cork, Pearse Stadium, 2pm**

Galway’s shock defeat to Tipperary in last year’s All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final was a sickening way to end it, but 2016 still counts as an important year of progress for Galway football.

Kevin Walsh bedded in a new-look team that won their first Connacht title for eight years and there are reasons to be optimistic they can continue to improve.

The age-profile of the panel is a good one, and they’ve been strengthened this year by the return of experienced players like Fiontan O’Curraoin, Johnny Duane, and Sean Armstrong to the set-up.

They’ve started 2017 in positive fashion by winning the FBD League, and there were a lot of positives to take from their Final victory over Roscommon.

They showed guts to hold on for the win despite having two men sent off, and there was another impressive performance from newcomer Barry McHugh who starred in attack throughout the FBD campaign.

The Tribesmen will be without their Corofin contingent for as long as their All-Ireland club campaign continues, but corner-forward Danny Cummins is still bullish about their chances having a positive League campaign.

“We are tired of making excuses, that this is a young team coming through,” said Cummins this week.

"We want to start putting in big performances and getting big results on big days, and that is something we will be aiming for this year.

"It is probably the best mixture we have had in a long time. The last couple of years you could always name a few superstars that Galway had but we have evened out a small bit and we probably have a more consistent team.

"We are long enough saying that we are building, it is time for us to produce big performances in the days ahead."

Beating Cork on Sunday would certainly make a statement because the Rebels were fixtures in Division One of the Allianz FL until last year’s relegation.

It’s a big year too for Peadar Healy’s team who have a lot to prove after a fairly disastrous 2016, but their hopes of building some early momentum won’t be helped by the absence of injured quintet Alan O’Connor, Jamie O’Sullivan, Eoin Cadogan, and Brian and Mical Hurley.

A good start is crucial in what looks like a very even and seriously competitive Division 2, and Rebels selector Eoin O’Neill admits they can’t afford a sluggish start on Sunday.

“We were somewhat rusty against Kerry in the McGrath Cup, but we really can’t afford to be rusty early in the league, as our first two games are fierce important,” he said.

“We need to be getting something out of one of those games, at least, or both. That is the way it is. Our opposition will be thinking the same thing. A good start in the league gives you that foundation of confidence to go and drive on.”

Galway: Rory Lavelle; Declan Kyne, David Walsh, Luke Burke; Gary O’Donnell, Gareth Bradshaw, Johnny Heaney; Paul Conroy, Fiontan O Curraoin; Thomas Flynn, Damien Comer, Eamonn Brannigan; Danny Cummins, Barry McHugh, Seán Armstrong.

Cork: Ryan Price; John McLoughlin, Tom Clancy, Kevin Crowley; Conor Dorman, James Loughrey, Stephen Cronin; Aidan Walsh, Ian Maguire; Ruairi Deane, Sean Powter, Mark Collins; Niall Coakley, Peter Kelleher, Paul Kerrigan.

Meath v Kildare, Pairc Tailteann, 2pm

Both teams have had some early-season optimism tempered by damp-squib exits from the O’Byrne Cup at the semi-final stage.

There were lots of positive noises coming out of Meath after the appointment of Andy McEntee as manager, but their defeat to Louth in that semi-final was a reality check.

Being reduced to 14-men in the first half was obviously a major factor in the result, but the manner in which they were out-fought and out-though by Louth on the way to a seven-point defeat proved the Royals are very much a work in progress.

The same goes for Kildare who lost to a third-string Dublin despite fielding what looked like a close to full strength team themselves.

The Lilywhites have been accused of being a mentally fragile team in recent years, and defeats like that won’t help their reputation.

They’re without Fionn Dowling and Emmet Bolton for this match, which robs them of two of their most effective players and natural leaders, but are otherwise picking from a full deck.

That makes a change from last year when they had to deal with a lot of injuries, which is why manager Cian O’Neill is more hopeful they’ll be able to bring a more effective game-plan from the start of the season this year.

“We are playing to a different shape this year, I would have liked to have played that way last year but it was not possible; any tactical set up is totally dependent on the players available on the day,” said O’Neill this week.

“I can see Sunday being a hugely defensive game, having seen Meath play this season, that’s the way they have set up under their new management; very defensively, so it will be a huge challenge, but a challenge we are looking forward too.

“All matches are important; you want to get a win of course but all games are important, and while it would be very nice to get a win on Sunday, no, it will not be the end of the world if we don’t but we are certainly going there to win; expecting to win.”

Meath: Jack Hannigan; Donal Keogan, Conor McGill, Mickey Burke; Brian Power, Shane McEntee, Alan Forde; Cian O’Brien, Bryan Menton; Cillian O’Sullivan, Graham Reilly (c), Paddy Kennelly; Eamon Wallace, Brian Sheridan, Donal Lenihan.

Kildare: Mark Donnellan; Mick O'Grady, David Hyland, Ollie Lyons; Johnny Byrne, Eoin Doyle, Keith Cribbin; Kevin Feely, Tommy Moolick; Fergal Conway, Niall Kelly, Paul Cribbin; Neil Flynn, Daniel Flynn, Ben McCormack.

Derry v Clare, Celtic Park, 2pm

Derry probably exceeded expectations of even their own fans by qualifying for the McKenna Cup Final.

It’ll be interesting to see though whether the positive vibes generated by their semi-final win in that competition over Monaghan have been dissipated by their heavy defeat to Tyrone in the Final itself.

Their chances of mounting a promotion charge in Division 2 of the Allianz League won’t be helped by the fact that they’ll have to make do without their Slaughtneil contingent who are focusing on their All-Ireland club campaign.

Damian Barton still has a strong looking panel at his disposal though, with players like Conor Nevin, Neil Forrester, and Aidan McLaughlin showing signs they can step up and make an impact this year.

Others like Ben McKinless, Conor McGrogan, Oisin Duffin, Michael Warnock, Peter Hagan and Niall Loughlin are also promising works in progress, so the Oak Leaf County are definitely promotion dark-horses.

They’ll fancy their chances of at least getting their campaign off to the best start possible today when they welcome Clare to Celtic Park, but they Banner County go there with a fighting chance.

Their promotion from Division Three last year was no fluke as evidenced by their subsequent run to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals.

It’s not always easy for a mid-tier county to follow up a high-achieving year with another though, and Clare looked off the pace in the McGrath Cup when they were deservedly beaten by Limerick.

Their totemic midfielder, Gary Brennan, is in action for his club Ballyea on Saturday in the All-Ireland Club SHC Semi-Final, so even if he were to play some part in this match the following day he’s unlikely to be at full throttle.

Derry: Thomas Mallon; Niall Keenan, Connor Nevin, Ronan Murphy; Neil Forester, Michael McEvoy, Mark Craig; Conor McAtamney, James Kielt; Enda Lynn, Niall Loughlin, Carlus McWilliams; Mark Lynch, Emmett McGuckin, Benny Heron.

Clare: TBC

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